CCTV sharing pilot speeds up London's shoplifting investigations

Boots was one of the major retailers involved in the pilot scheme

A faster way of receiving CCTV footage of shoplifting has sped up investigations, the Metropolitan Police has said.

A new reporting platform lets retailers submit CCTV footage, witness statements and other evidence directly to the police moments after a crime is committed. At present officers can wait four weeks or longer to receive them.

When shoplifting was reported in the six boroughs piloting the technology, 29.4% of cases resulted in a caution, charge or other criminal disposal, compared to 7.3% before the pilot was introduced.

The British Independent Retail Association welcomed the technology, but added it could be a challenge for smaller businesses that could not afford it.

The force worked with major retailers in six London boroughs, including Tesco, Boots, Greggs and M&S, for the six-month pilot scheme.

The technology was first piloted in Bexley, Greenwich, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Lewisham, and Westminster.

It has now been extended to subscribing retailers in Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Lambeth, Southwark and Sutton.

Cdr Andy Featherstone said the key to solving shoplifting was evidence that showed the identity of the offender, as well as a statement from the company and a record of the items that had been stolen.

"Something that may have taken months and months in the past, and sometimes evidence lost along that process, is now able to move in a matter of hours to bring in offenders to justice," he said.

Small shops, which also experience shoplifting, say they needed help too.

Andrew Goodacre, CEO of the British Independent Retail Association, said the technology was "largely good news".

"There's that bit of challenge for independent retailers who don't have the technology and the resources to maybe deal with this crime in a way that a large Tesco might do."

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